One month down.

A little over one month actually since CPT Dick deployed. But 14 to go.

And I have to say, the first month flew by fairly quickly. You must understand, things leading up to the deployment were absolutely crazy. We had so many events and ceremonies and briefings and other random mandatory fun events. I needed a rest. And I tend to spend the first few weeks after CPT Dick leaves for anything cleaning the house and getting it back into order. So that kills a good two weeks right there. And the boy has had all kinds of activities and play dates, so that helped, too. And many of my editors have taken pity on me and showered me with work. Also a good way to make the nights pass faster.

But now, we're coming to a lull. It's as if I'm finally realizing that he's gone and he won't be back for a while. And you know, it's those moments that it hits me, that I'm not going 110 mph, that are the hardest to bear.

You want your soldier to have a cel phone? Really?!

One of the biggest demands that families had before our unit deployed was that their husbands be able to take their mobile telephones with them. I thought this a terrible idea for a variety of reasons. One, you can be tracked with a mobile phone on a network. Two, if you ring your soldier at the wrong time and his phone is on, there goes any chance of hiding. And three, well, chances are, even with that phone, you aren't going to talk to him any more often than you would anyway. At least, if the soldier is doing his job and not putting his comrades in danger.

But I must admit, when I made arguments against bringing mobile phones to Iraq, I never thought of the accidental pocket-dial. And as a soldier named Stephen Phillips just found out, those kind of accidental pocket dials can happen at the wrong time.

Nothing like that first drunk phone call in the middle of the night.

As FRG leader, you are prepared for calls. You are. You know that people are going to call to complain about X, bitch about Y and cry some about Z.

But no matter how much experience or training you have, that first sobbing phone calls that comes in the wee hours still catches you off-guard.

I've now had mine. She had gone out to the bars. He called while she was out. She came home drunk to a sad message from her husband saying that he couldn't get her on her mobile either and that he wasn't sure when he'd get to a phone again.

So she called me crying. And ready to tell me all about it.

While I can certainly relate -- I've missed more than a few calls from CPT Dick during all of our deployments for one stupid reason or another -- I'm not sure why she felt it merited a call to her FRG leader at 2:00am. But she did. It's the FRG equivalent of drunk dialing. And like the other forms of that particular disease, it is almost impossible to get those people off the phone.

Hopefully, I'll be better prepared next weekend.

Holy Mother of God.

So, I'll be honest. For the most part, I've never been one to pay attention to food prices. While many of my friends, shop circular sales, clip coupons and buy milk at one store and produce at another, I've sort of always just bought what I needed when I needed it. And who notices individual changes in price when you are always buying a cart load? I've read all of the articles about food price inflation but have never really connected personally.

But today, I went to get Munchkin some fruit. He had a craving for peaches. Sure, it's early in the season. But I saw that there were some good ones at the commissary. They were small, sure, and could use some ripening up, but a few days in the sun and they'd be a tasty treat. I put 6 of them in a bag and made my way to the cashier.

Imagine my surprise when she rang me up and said, "That'll be $8.13, please."

Over 8 bucks. For 6 peaches. Hot damn.

Ariana Huffington is kind of hot, now that I think about it.

In response to People's Beautiful People list, Mollygood has come out with its own list of Beautiful Women.

It's kind of rad. Because, the Mollygood editors are right. Each year, that Beautiful People list just puts more and more young, cut up girls on those pages. And it got me thinking more about what I think is beautiful.

NEE's Top 10 Beautiful Women List, in no particular order:

1. Padma Lakshmi
   
2. Sophia Loren
3. Drew Barrymore
4. Gina Torres
5. Darryl Hannah
6. Isabella Rossellini
7. Michelle Trachtenberg
8. Debra Winger
9. Elizabeth Gilbert
10. Ellen Page
    

What are your picks?

A confession.

Okay, so when someone talks about what they saw on Oprah, I may roll my eyes. And then I may say that although I appreciate her getting to read books again and attempting some philanthropic works, I just don't get it.

But the truth is, I don't not watch Oprah because I'm so holier-than-thou. No. I don't watch Oprah because that stupid woman makes me cry way too often. Even when she has the Sex and the City girls on. So there. I said it.

Interesting.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who is concerned about the rising Evangelical element in the Army.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/26/atheist.soldier.ap/index.html

I'm curious as to what you all think of this lawsuit. Has it any merit? And does anyone else giggle a bit when they realize that it appears there is at least one atheist -- even in a foxhole?

Army Family Covenant, my ass.

Much ado was made of the Army Family Covenant when it was signed earlier this year. It would improve our facilities, our healthcare, our childcare, blah blah blah. And I think when it was signed -- and of course, splashed all over the headlines -- I thought it was a little too good to be true.

And for us, it is.

Not even two weeks after our husbands deployed, our Child and Youth Services decided to discontinue several much-desired and well-utilized childcare programs. Never mind that it promised that it wouldn't cut anything in all of the briefings before the guys left. Never mind that they signed the Covenant and told us that wouldn't allow them to cut programs. They did it anyway. And are actually using the Covenant to justify these cuts, saying that it's the only way they can provide the free childcare hours they promised. Worse, because of that, it appears that there may be no recourse.

It's times like these I'm so fucking proud to be an American.

Question for the ages.

Of all the things that dog paws could smell like, why is it that they so often have an odor that resembles Fritos?

So everyone keeps asking what I'm reading.

And since I've been slacking, I thought I'd ask my friend, Allison Winn Scotch what she looks for in a book and for some recommendations for me (and y'all, too!).

Allison is the author of The Department of Lost and Found (out now in paperback!) and the about-to-be-released Time of My Life (Random House, October 2008). She also frequently writes for magazines like American Baby, Self, Shape and Women's Health. I read and loved The Department of Lost and Found and can't wait for her new book.

NEE: What makes for a good book?

Allison: Well, my criteria is fairly obvious: I want something that is intellectually engaging, sharply written but still highly readable. I put down A LOT of books because I find the writing too simplistic or the action too slow. Which isn’t to say that there isn’t a market out there for those easier reads or those more literary reads – there is, but I’m just not part of that market. I really enjoy writers who can move their plots along quickly (I’m a mother to two young kids, so it’s not as if I have hours and hours to linger over a book), but still find a way to make their prose lyrical.

NEE: What are you reading now?

Allison: I just finished the Ten-Year Nap, which explored some fascinating issues – the staleness of marriage, the ambivalence of motherhood, the difficulties of working moms – but it was a tad too literary for my tastes. Not that it wasn’t stunningly written, it was – it was just a little bit of a slower read for me, and as I said above, I’m all about quick, quick, quick! If I really love a book, I’ll devour it in three days. Up next for me is my good friend, Laura Dave’s, The Divorce Party. Laura is the author of the fabulous London is the Best City in America, and not only is she one of the warmest, kindest, most generous friends, she’s an amazing writer, so I’m really excited to dig into her new release.

NEE: What do you consider your top 5 books of all time?

Allison: Oh geez! An impossible question. Well, “of all-time” might be a bit of stretch, but here are five books that I hold in very high esteem, in terms of books and authors who have influenced my writing and to whom it would be an honor to be compared.

1) The Dive From Clausen’s Pier by Ann Packer. This book was completely absorbing, haunting and made you wonder how you would react should the book’s situations (in which a young woman’s fiancé is paralyzed) happen to you.

2) My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Picoult is such a prolific writer, but for me, this was her best work that I’ve read. I think I tore through it in less than 24 hours.

3) Good Grief by Lolly Winston. The Department was frequently compared to Good Grief, and I took that as the highest compliment. An engaging, warm, moving story of a woman who lost her husband but who discovers that there is still a lot to be found in the world as she rebuilds her life.

4) Then We Came to The End by Joshua Ferris. Written in the second-person, this book was complete and total genius. A book I never could have written, even on my best day, and as a fan of The Office, I laughed as much as I marveled over Ferris’s writing.

5) Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand. Another one that I counted down the hours until I could pick it back up. The story of one summer on Nantucket, where three women dealt with breast cancer, lost love, infidelity, new love, pregnancy and infertility. I loved everything about this book.

NEE: How do you come up with the story lines for your books?

Allison: Really, I’m struck with lightening bolts! I’ve tried to write books in the past in which I really didn’t have a strong vision, and no surprise!, the books ended up being meandering pieces of crap! With the Department, I was mourning the loss of someone close to me from cancer, when I literally woke up one day with the idea of this young woman who is diagnosed with cancer and who discovers that the life she’s been living might not have been the one she should have been living all along. The idea for Time of My Life came about after having one of those “what if” chats with my best friend…she was visiting the hometown of an ex-boyfriend, and she called me to say how weirded out she was by it. I, of course, understood exactly what she meant because, like every woman I know, I’ve entertained those “what ifs.” After we hung up, I went for a run, and voila, was struck with the idea of a discontented woman who wakes up one day seven years in the past and has the chance to redo her life, this time, without mistakes. I came home and wrote what are now the first 15 pages. But once I have that initial idea, I really let my characters take me where they want to go. I’m not a writer who outlines everything in advance…I usually know where the characters will end up in the last chapter, but it’s an adventure for all of us getting there!

NEE: Tell us more about your books.

Allison: The Department is about a headstrong, ambitious young woman who is diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. Before you cringe in horror, I should say that a) the book is very funny!, and b) the cancer is really just a catalyst for her discovering her own path, her own way and really, the life that she should have been living. What I love more than anything is when people tell me that they didn’t see this as a “cancer” book, rather a relatable story about a woman who is coming of age and coming into her own. In doing so, she retraces her past, tracking down the five loves of her life, and tries to assess if she went off-track and if so, how she can claw her way back. Natalie, my protagonist, could be any one of us because certainly, in all of our lives, cancer or not, we’ve had to muddle through the muck and point ourselves upward.

Time of My Life touches on similar themes, I guess. As I mentioned above, it’s about a 35-year old who seemingly has it all: the five-bedroom house, the cherubic toddler, the handsome husband, but who waddles around in her own “what ifs.” After an ethereal massage, she wakes up one day to find herself in her old apartment, with her old boyfriend, with her old job and her old life, and now, with perfect hindsight, she can set about rebuilding a new life and discover if it was the one she should have been living all along. It was SO much fun to write, and geez, I only hope that people realize that it’s fiction and not an autobiography! J I’ve already given my husband a lot of credit for laughing when he heard the plot line and only making a few jokes about whether or not this was my own private fantasy!